


tales from may 2015

by paranormalbouquet



Category: The X-Files RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 16:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18144644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paranormalbouquet/pseuds/paranormalbouquet
Summary: She landed at JFK airport on the tenth of May at a little past 10 pm. She was wearing a white, loosely fit, scoop-necked top, black yoga pants that hugged her hips perfectly, and hair that was up in a messy ponytail.Within minutes of getting off the plane, she got a call from him.“How’d you know I was here already?” was the first thing she said when she answered her phone.“I could feel it,” he replied. She could practically hear his smile.





	1. May 10

**Author's Note:**

> Title based on **[this post](http://fuckyeahdavidgillian.tumblr.com/post/118914554325/tales-from-the-green-room-at-the-concert-yes)** which was the inspiration for writing this whole fic in the first place. I will absolutely be writing it into this eventually.  
> I will be changing the rating at some point considering the ideas I have for the rest of the fic.

Was it worth it to go to New York for the Fox Upfronts? Absolutely not, she thought to herself.

They walked out on stage and didn’t even say a word. They were just there to get people’s attention because God only knows if Chris walked out there by himself, no one would even bat an eye. She always knew that they were the reason people watched and still do watch the show. And of course, they saved The X-Files’ presentation until the very end. Not only did it make people stick around and watch the whole thing, but it also made it so that she and David couldn’t just bounce out early. She had to get all prettied up in hair, makeup, and a dress for nothing. Just as soon as they walked out on stage, they basically had to turn around and get off again.

But, was it worth it to come to New York for David’s concert the next day? She Abso-fuckin’-lutely thought it was.

She landed at JFK airport on the tenth of May at a little past 10 pm. She was wearing a white, loosely fit, scoop-necked top, black yoga pants that hugged her hips perfectly, and hair that was up in a messy ponytail.

Within minutes of getting off the plane, she got a call from him.

“How’d you know I was here already?” was the first thing she said when she answered her phone.

“I could feel it,” he replied. She could practically hear his smile. “How was your flight?”

“It was fine,” she answered as she watched the luggage go by on the carousel, “I slept like shit for the past few nights, so for most of the flight I was making up for that.”

“Maybe it’s because you weren’t sleeping next to me,” she could envision that damn smile of his again.

“Fuck off,” she chuckled out as she spotted her bag.

The last time she saw him was two years ago when they did panels at San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con, and the Paley Center for the 20th anniversary. The fans absolutely lost their shit over seeing them together again and those events were just as fun for her and David as they were for the fans. That bathroom stall in the San Diego Comic-Con convention center will never be the same after what they did in it. A few months later at New York Comic-Con, they just maybe might have gotten a little too high before the panel and to this day, the details of that panel are lost to her. The next day, they did a Reddit Q&A and some fan thought they were a fucking genius because they italicized a bunch of letters throughout their drawn-out question that all added up to, Have you two ever banged?

I mean, sure David was the one to catch it, but she thought it was absolutely hilarious. They both came up with the reply to that one even though it was under his name.

“David here... David and Gillian just disappeared into the bathroom. David said they’ll be back in two. Gillian said fifteen.”

They had their Paley Center appearance later that day. Little does everyone know that when he said “I’ll show you later” to her, he actually meant it.

He laughed on the other end of the line. “Do you have anyone coming to get you from the airport?”

“I have a cab coming,” she answered as she walked towards the exit and into the New York night.

“Where are you staying?”

“And that’s your business why?” she questioned as she raised her eyebrows and spotted the cab waiting for her.

“Just curious. Gotta make sure you’re staying in a place that’s worthy of housing you.”

“You’re a fucking sap.”

“What can I say,” he replied smugly. “Anyways, you never told me where you’re staying?”

“Because it’s not important,” she thought about bringing up the topic they were both dancing around; What seeing each other again meant for them. By far, this is the most complicated relationship she has ever had with any person in her entire life.

In the beginning, they would just go out for a drink every once and awhile. Sure, they had kind of already worked with each other for most of the hours of every day, but sometimes it was comforting to talk with a person about work experiences knowing that they were going through exactly what you were going through. It was strictly only drinks, though. They went back to separate places afterward and lived their lives.

It weirdly enough morphed into them being a couple for a little bit, though they wouldn’t dare to label it that themselves. It was never official in the eyes of the public or the press. That’s the way they would prefer it to be since they are both such private people. But as they attended the 1997 Golden Globe Awards, they couldn’t help but hold hands down the entire stretch of the red carpet. They couldn’t help but kiss when her name was called for Best Actress in a Drama Series. He just had to kiss her on the cheek after the ceremony while they were being asked questions by the press.

Neither of them knew how or why, but their complicated relationship turned into sexually charged hatred. Maybe hate is too strong of a word, but it definitely was what it felt like at that time. They’ve always had chemistry and sexual tension. But this hatred, for lack of a better word, was not only sexually charged because of their chemistry and tension, but because of the relationship they just came off with each other. Suddenly, they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. Being in the same room was painful for them and for any other person in the room. But you can tell two people have this amazing and yet fucked up relationship when their sexual tension and acting was almost better now that they couldn’t stand each other.

Something switched again, and they were just appreciative of each other. They had respect for each other and just didn’t dare cross that boundary again. The show ended and they were sort of able to move on with their lives... For the most part. Except for when every time they saw each other after a long period of time, they uncontrollably fell into bed with each other.

To be honest, yeah, she loved David. Not in like, that way. At least she doesn’t want to think so. But she knew she’ll never have a connection with anyone like she has with him. She just hoped they outgrew the “meet-up and fuck” phase. Now, she just wanted to appreciate a good friendship, if that’s what you can call it.

 

“Fine, okay,” he answered lightly to her. “I concede. I’ll see you tomorrow, Gillian.”

“See you tomorrow,” she replied and hung up.

Once she got to her hotel room, she set her bags down on the bed and got out her shower toiletries. She got in the shower and stayed in there for longer than she usually does. Maybe her thoughts were wandering a little too much.

Significant others have always held a somewhat constant presence in both of their lives, but the relationships would always end no matter how long they lasted. He was married for a good chunk of time and she’s had a few different partners throughout the years, but those always ended. She wasn’t even sure she believed in this or not, but sometimes she questioned, aren’t people supposed to have a perfect person out there for them? Most of the time, she lived her life day by day and just took whatever came her way. She tried not to feel super strong longings for certain things except for the obvious like the health and happiness of her children, but sometimes the mind does what it wants when it wants.

Could he actually be her person but they both just don’t want to admit it?

They tried the whole relationship thing once before and it ended in them hating each other for a decent amount of time. Was that a sign that they’re just another lost significant other to each other, or does their history override everything and fate eventually pulls any other person out of the equation just to tell them that they’re supposed to be together?

They’re both set to never forget this question seen as every interview they’ve ever done together or even plenty of the ones they’ve done separately mentioned this “special bond” or how much chemistry they have. They never fail to get asked, “So... about you two... Are you together or...?” It bothered and still does bother them both that people feel they have the right to be in their personal business. They don’t owe the public any information about their personal lives.

But then came the question of if they actually do end up together. Would they want to keep it a secret? Would it be too much work to keep it a secret? Would all the pressure of keeping it a secret weight down on them and ruin a perfectly fine relationship? If they didn’t keep it a secret and came out as a couple, it would fuel the public’s ego like there’s no tomorrow. It would make everyone feel like they’re on top of the fucking world. They would think they’re all knowing of everything ever.

“Yeah! Fuckin’ sorry! You guys were right! I guess we are meant for each other!”

She thought about having to say that and it made her cringe. It basically placed the public’s interests high up on a pedestal and their own, the ones that actually matter, way down below. It was something she was just not sure she wanted to deal with. So, the question is forever hung in front of their faces, both not sure what to do about it.

She finally got out of the shower and got dressed in her pajamas. She had a black, low-cut, button-down pajama top on and matching bottoms. She took her hair down from the towel wrap she had it in, brushed her hair and teeth, and did her skincare routine. She crawled into the sheets of the hotel bed and attempted to get a better night’s sleep than she had gotten the past few nights and tried not to think about the comment he said to her as a joke earlier.


	2. May 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, stranger.”  
> “Oooh, I know that voice.”

The next day was May 11. She arrived at the building where the Fox Upfronts were being held at about four in the afternoon. A black, white, and yellow dress complimented her skin tone perfectly as her hair hung in loose, blonde curls.

As she walked in the door of a room she was led to, she crazily enough saw him right away. He was halfway across the room and had his back facing toward her. He was looking down, presumably trying to figure something out on his phone. She came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder a few times.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Oooh, I know that voice,” he said as he turned around. It was the first time she had seen his face in person in two years and she was greeted with a giant smile. She couldn’t help but match the level of joy he expressed.

“You know it,” she replied with a giggle. Even in her heels, she had to go on her tiptoes to hug his tall figure. He returned the hug, bending down significantly to wrap his arms around her back.

“You look great,” he complimented her as he let go of her.

“Why thank you,” she looked down at her dress and smoothed it out with her hands. She fixed her eyes back on him again. “Might I add, you look great yourself,” she commented as she playfully tugged on the lapel of his black suit jacket and then patted his chest a few times with an open palm.

“Thank you,” he looked down at her hand on his chest and then back up at her face. “Did you sleep better than you have the past few nights?” he asked, clearly remembering her mentioning that on the phone the previous day. She crossed her arms in front of herself.

“Actually, I did. Thank you for asking,” she answered with a grin as she looked him straight in the eyes. He doesn’t need to know that he was the last thing on her mind before she fell asleep.

“Good,” he said with a smile. She nodded back.

She turned her head to observe the room they were in. It was this large but not overly large, weirdly shaped, modern themed room with charcoal black walls where there wasn’t an opening for a hall or a doorway. The ceiling was white with these strangely arranged lights that looked like lines crisscrossing each other every which way. It wasn’t super bright but not too uncomfortably dark. The carpet was dark green with gold colored patterns throughout. A few small tables with chairs around them were placed in the center of the room. Decorative pillars were scattered throughout and a bar that wasn’t being tended stuck out of one of the walls. There was a table near the bar with a cylindrical glass water dispenser on it. It had ice, lemon slices, and raspberries floating in it. There were already plenty of other people in the room, and she noticed that more people would occasionally come in through the door she entered earlier. Her attention went back to the fancy water dispenser. It actually looked quite refreshing now seen as the more people that filed in, the warmer it got in there. There was a sign next to a door at one corner of the room that said “Blue Carpet” because apparently, Fox thinks they are too good for a red one. At the corner closest to where they were standing was two big doors with a sign over it that said “Theater”. They could very clearly hear the amplified voices of the people talking on stage through the doors.

“Nice place,” she commented then looked back at him.

“I’d say so,” he agreed. 

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, now just listening to the low roll of talking from the rest of the people in the room. 

“What the hell are we doing here?” he continued with a smile.

She let her chin fall to her chest as she let out a chuckle. “To be honest, I’ve been thinking that same thing since I got here,” she answered as she looked back up at him. 

“Couldn’t Chris have just done this by himself?” he muttered sort of rhetorically. She answered his question even though he wasn’t intending on getting a response.

“You know what happens when we're not involved in this stuff,” She had a huge grin on her face. “No one will even know Chris is standing up there talking if we’re not with him. We’re the reason people pay any attention to this show whatsoever.”

He gave her a look that said: “Shit, you’re right.” She nodded back at him accepting the win.

“So, how have you been?” she started. 

And just like that, they fell into it. They were with the person they’ve known for almost half their lives, with a person that they could talk to for hours and never run out of things to say. They stood there chatting for almost forty-five minutes.

“What time do we go out there?” he asked.

“I think our presentation is around 5:30,” she answered as he pulled out his phone to see what time it was. Four-forty-seven. “The whole show started around four. Of course, they had to save us for the very end.”

“I guess those people in the audience need something to hold them over till the end ‘cause from what I can hear,” he perked his ears up to the doors of the theater where you could still hear the show coming from, “it doesn’t sound very exciting in there.”

“Speaking of keeping people entertained, we need to take a picture together. Those fans of ours kinda deserve a little something,” she pointed out.

“A little something, you say?” he repeats back suggestively as he wiggled his eyebrows. She softly smacked his shoulder with a giggle.

“Goddammit, David,” she was still smiling as she walked up to someone and asked them to take a picture of the two of them. His arm went comfortably around her back and his hand rested on her hip. His body perfectly fit next to her. The picture was taken and her phone was given back to her.  
“Thank you,” she said to the person. Turning back toward David, she motioned for them to go find a seat. “Now, how the hell do I tweet this?” She questioned herself as they sat down at one of the tables. 

“Here, let me help you,” he offered as he outstretched his hand for her phone. 

“No, no, no. I can do it,” she defended with a chortle.

He watched, surprised that she actually could figure out how to post it.

“Last time I was with you, you didn’t even know what your twitter handle was. I definitely call this an improvement,” he complimented.

“What’s a handle?” she asked as he gave her an unimpressed look. “Just kidding, just kidding. A lot of things can change in two years, including me slightly learning how to use social media.”

“I guess so.”

A lot of things can change in two years was sort of a loaded statement considering what he went through just the previous year. 

“Here, look at this. I even mentioned you in the caption,” she stated as she turned her phone towards him so he could read it.

.@davidduchovny says to please bid on @Doodle4NF’s 165 doodles to help @nfnetwork, she inserted the link. Thank you!

“Wow, good job, Gillian. So proud of you,” he said with a nod.

“Thank you,” she said smugly with a cute little grin. “And… Send tweet. They’re gonna love that.”

He pulled out his phone to see what time it was. Four-fifty-nine. “Looks like we’ve got about thirty minutes until our time to shine.”

“Yeah,” she replied still looking down at her phone, “I think I heard that we need to be backstage at least fifteen minutes before we go out so we should get going soon.”

He looked around for a sign to tell them where to go. They knew where the entrance to the blue carpet was and where the entrance to the theater was but had no idea where to go to get to the stage. He finally spotted a sign across the room that said “Backstage”.

“Hey, I found our point B,” she looked up from her phone at him as he nodded towards the sign.

“Good, good.” 

So, that was that. They went out on stage, didn’t say a word to the crowd, and then walked right back off. Definitely not worth her trip to New York.

They ended up back into the room with the weird lights and dark green patterned floors. Chris quickly took off with a handshake for David and a hug for Gillian. 

“Well…” he let out with a sigh as Gillian’s manager walked up to her and told her she had to walk the blue carpet and do a few quick interviews.

“Okay, just give me one second,” Gillian told her as she turned around to face him. “It was good to see you, David. I’ll see you in June, okay?” 

“Yeah,” she went in for a hug and as she pulled away she gave him a little kiss on the cheek. She had almost turned completely around when he caught her attention again. “Gillian, actually,” she turned back around to face him. “Let me make your trip here worth it. Can I take you out to dinner tonight? There’s this great Italian place-”

“Sure, David,” she cut him off, “I would love that,” she expressed with a soft but beaming smile. “Just call me okay?” 

“I will,” he agreed. 

“See you later,” she squeezed his hand and then turned around to leave for the carpet.


End file.
